REVIEW: Ben & Jerry's Banana Cream Pie (Walmart Exclusive)

Banana based ice creams have recently become a favorite of mine, so I was delighted to see the latest Wal-Mart exclusive from Ben & Jerry’s came in the form of Banana Cream Pie. This limited batch offering takes the classic dessert and transforms it into ice cream by bringing a banana ice cream with pastry cream swirls, marshmallow swirls & pie crust pieces. Although I’ve had all of these individual components in flavors such as Chunky Monkey, Boston Cream Pie, Phish Food and Key Lime Pie, this particular combination sounds much better than the others. This seems to be one of Ben & Jerry’s harder-to-find pints, so you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across a few lone cartons sitting in the slot of constantly rotating limited batch flavors. I took two and headed home.

When companies are deciding which flavors to make, banana pudding typically wins over banana cream pie, but the thought of custard and pie crust replacing pudding and vanilla wafers makes me wonder why. The 260 calories per serving is right in line with most other super-premium ice creams, but still on the low side considering all the mix-ins. A large portion of the pastry cream swirl remains stuck to the top as I toss it aside. The dense ice cream is mellow, and because of all the other ingredients swirling about, takes on more of a custard taste than some of their other banana-based offerings. Ben & Jerry’s particular recipe creates a base that is slow-melting, sweet and acts as the perfect foundation for this limited batch flavor. Before long I begin to run into the bright yellow pastry cream swirl that’s also found in Boston Cream Pie.

This swirl is thick, sticky and adds a nice dose of authentic custard flavoring. When combined with the banana ice cream, this gives a genuine flavor profile when attempting to impersonate Banana Cream Pie. The marshmallow swirl that accompanies the pastry cream has a much lighter feel, but plays the part of the fluffy topping tremendously. As your mouth shuts around the marshmallow, the small air pockets trapped inside are released which provides a unique texture as far as swirls are concerned. Despite the fact that I’d tried the pie crust pieces from Ben & Jerry’s in their limited edition Key Lime Pie, I imagine they’d pair better with a banana theme rather than lime.

These small chunks of crust are found intermittently throughout the pint and provide the perfect finishing touch. The pieces are flaky, slightly-sweet and compliment all the other ingredients imitating the pie’s filling. When combined with the swirls and ice cream, the result is one of the best banana ice creams available from Ben & Jerry’s. Joining the list of other Wal-Mart exclusives like Blueberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, this one is worthy of seeking out. The experience encapsulated by a bite containing the marshmallow swirl sitting on top of pastry swirl, sitting on a piece of pie crust, and sopping with banana ice cream is ice cream ecstasy.

Where I Found It: Super Walmart
Grade: A